Maria Litke as Pallas Athena performs with the chorus during a rehearsal of 'Oresteia' at Bard College's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.

Written by

Jac Bergenson
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

"Gradually, from this chaos of thoughts and sketches something orderly and definite begins to emerge. Everything extraneous is discarded. That which is unquestionably suitable remains."

So said Sergei Taneyev in a letter to his mentor and colleague, prolific Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Taneyev was speaking of his masterpiece and only opera, "Oresteia," and its careful, calculated score.

The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College will present "Oresteia" as part of Bard's SummerScape celebration of the arts. The focus of this year's festival is on ...